The present invention relates to a wire stripper and has particular application as a portable hand-held device for use in stripping insulation from small diameter wire.
Wire stripping devices for use in the stripping of insulation from electrical wire are well known in the art, and over a period of time have taken various shapes and forms in the construction thereof. In the stripping of insulation from small diameter wire, many of the wire strippers known heretofore have not been altogether satisfactory because the cutting elements of these prior known devices quite frequently cut through the insulation and into the wire strands, thereby nicking the wire strands and reducing the conductivity characteristics thereof. In most of these prior known stripping devices, the depth of cut of the cutting elements was not precisely controlled; and as a result, the user of the device had to gauge how deeply to cut into the insulation. Approximating the depth of cut of the cutting elements was not always accurate and nicking or cutting of the wire strands oftentimes resulted in the use of many of the prior known devices.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,317, a wire stripper is disclosed that represents an improvement over the conventional wire stripping device and does include a specific form of cutting element that is precisely controlled with respect to the depth of cut thereof so that nicking or cutting of the wire strands is prevented when insulation is stripped therefrom. Although the wire stripper disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,317 performs in a satisfactory manner for the purpose disclosed and described in the patent, the present invention represents an improvement thereover, particularly in the blade assembly.